Areios
Areios is a rather common yet valuable mineral available in many of the Segmentum Asia planets. Composition and Properties Areios consists of multiple compounds and elements, notably silver iodide, copper sulfate, pyrite, and others, However, copper is the most well distributed element, which gives it the electric blue color. Areios is very dense given its packed structure that accomodates for all the ore compounds. Within the initial network of copper compounds lay plethora of compounds packed inside, resulting in a whopping average density of 44.2 g/cm3, more than twice that of mercury. These two things give Areios its value. Appearance and availability It is as stated above of blue color given the dominance of copper in coloring matter. Areios generally exist in large crystal formations, especially in Polysiton and Meizotere Hellas in both outcrops and veins, although outcrops are the predominant form in Polysiton, while veins are the predominant form in Meizotere Hellas. Although Areios is most associated with mineral outcrop growth, there are other forms of Areios: the most notable alternate form of Areios is crystal "fruits" grown off Selenoxylon, which was a leading factor in development of the Lagikoanthropoi civilization as they were given a head start on access of metals. A haul of Areios enough to fill a four-axle cargo railroad car (around 60 tons) is enough to buy a very large industrial complex around 5 sq. mi2 thus making it a quite valuable resource, but pales in comparison to the likes of spice melange that allegedly can buy an entire planet for a suitcase's load of spice at the time of the Corrino Empire. Nowever, Areios's real value is similar to that of Tiberium of Command and Conquer's Tiberium universe: it provides for easy access to industrial metals at minimal cost, and it does the job even better than Tiberium. This is so because not only is Areios nontoxic, but also requires no more than the likes of a simple bloomery to get at some of the valuable minerals, which is aided by the high air pressures of the planets involved. Obviously, industrial blast furnace refineries do a much more efficient job at utilizing all the valuable elements of Areios, but attenuated furnaces that can be prefabricated and placed at the field in relative ease do a good enough job to produce significant value out of an small node of Areios worth around 200 tons of Areios. Because of this, Areios is a much-sought after mineral in fields of battle, and also the reason for the rapid development of field production technologies in Segmentum Asia as well as the rapid development of technology or industrial infrastructure, former for the young species of Segmentum Asia, and latter for the immigrant humans from Earth. The largest deposit of Areios is located at Mount Pangaion at Meizotere Hellas, producing more than 500 tons of Areios annually. While Meizotere Hellas and Polysiton are the biggest producers of Areios, given the ubiquity of Areios in Segmentum Asia, Areios is the most mined mineral in Segmentum Asia by mass by far. Usage Obviously, the most common usage of Areios is to be refined into its metallic components to be used in industry. However, its piezoelectric and electroluminescent properties make the crystals themselves valuable in gemcraft and electronics, some even making it to advanced relic-class equipments. Although it isn't a unique weapon available only to certain characters, the Axine Pammeka utilizes the Areios to add to it the ability to pulse energy and thus increase the combat effectiveness of the said weapon. In-Game Mechanics Areios is an indirect primary resource, as mining and refining Areios is one way of acquiring requisition in Ε.Α.Β.Ε: Commoners' Legion. Areios nodes most often appear as crystal outcrops at the surface that are easy to mine, requiring only labor and simple tools to do so. However, Areios need to be refined to be converted into actual requisition, and all factions have the capability to mine and refine Areios to boost their war effort. Some Areios nodes have prebuilt drilling facilities upon them left by previous Lagikoi and Sentinel efforts to mine them. They have the potential to produce requisition much faster, meaning such nodes are bound to be heavily contested. Each faction in the game has a building that serves as a place to return the mined Areios to be processed for requisition: *Territorial Independence Army and Arche Hellenike - Metallourgeion *Posterity of The Sentinels - Built into the Command Base and the Outpost *Evil Baby Corporation - Burny Place *Tropas Libre - Refinery Images Areios.png|Areios Sprite